– It should not be the case that it should be perceived as a secret, said Besseberg in court on Friday. There he received a number of questions about how his 70th birthday was marked. The invitation he received from top sponsor Volker Schmid was indeed a very special day for the biathlete president accused of corruption. A number of pretended hunting trips are part of the indictment of gross corruption against Besseberg. He pleads not guilty after the indictment. – Fantastic hunting area On Friday, his hunting trips to the exclusive hunting castle Zidlochvice in the Czech Republic were highlighted. As mentioned, he was invited there by top sponsor Volker Schmid, whom Besseberg has referred to as a hunting companion for several decades. – It was a fantastic hunting area and a great castle, said Besseberg in court. The Zidlochvice hunting castle profiles itself as one of the best-preserved hunting castles in Europe and offers luxury accommodation. Hunting castle Zidlochvice in the south-east of the Czech Republic Photo: Private and screenshot Lesy Ceske – This castle was several hundred years old. The game there was very well looked after. They were very professional hunters, Besseberg said. Pretended hunting trips in Austria with Schmid have already been brought to light in court. Schmid is called by Besseberg a very good hunting companion over several decades. At the same time, Scmid also had a role in the giant rights company Infront, which arranged marketing agreements with the International Biathlon Union (IBU). He had also previously been the owner of the company APF Marketing, which had had the same role vis-à-vis the IBU. Therefore, the relationship is problematic, whether Schmid actually wanted something more with the promised trips. And their hunting trips in Austria and the Czech Republic are part of the indictment against Besseberg. Inside the hunting castle Zidlochvice in the Czech Republic. Photo: Screenshot: Lesy České Shot mouflon The hunting trips that were highlighted in the Czech Republic maintained a high level. This particularly applied to the stay and the hunt he was given until his 70th birthday. – I received an invitation to go on that hunt, which was to take place in connection with my 70th birthday. He wanted, because of our long hunting friendship of more than 20 years, that I should shoot a big mouflon and go with him there, Besseberg said. 24 February 2016 was the day before Besseberg turned 70. Then he arrived at the hunting castle. And on his last day as a 69-year-old, he hit the mark, on what was described as a large, gold-class mouflon. It is a wild primitive sheep that is distributed in central parts of Europe. This photo was taken by Besseberg who felled a mouflon on 24 February 2016. This trip was highlighted in court on Friday. Photo: Privat It was in the evening that Besseberg felled the large and valuable mouflon. The price presented in court for this 24-hour period amounted to over NOK 100,000. The room with breakfast cost 270 euros. But the mouflon Besseberg had shot alone had a value of 10,137 euros according to evidence in court. The price also included the organization of the hunt. The court then showed photos of Besseberg and Schmid, who celebrated the occasion with a glass of champagne inside the hunting lodge where they lived. Besseberg’s hunting companion, Volker Schmid. Here with his wife Regina Schnagel. The picture from a different occasion than the hunting trip. Schmid has been summoned as a witness in the trial against Besseberg. Photo: Getty Images By then, according to Besseberg, the clock must have passed midnight, which gave reason to raise the glasses. Because by then it had become 25 February. It was Besseberg’s 70th birthday. – I am glad that you have the photo evidence that this was an invitation from my hunting friend Volker Schmid, says Besseberg. Picture from the hunting castle Zidlochvice in the Czech Republic. Photo: Screenshot: Lesy České Blomster from the king Earlier this week, Anders Besseberg denied that the hunting trips with hunting companion Volker Schmid were anything other than private trips. – This was not a business matter. Then you have completely misunderstood, Besseberg then said about the hunting trips with Schmid. Evidence presented by Økokrim in court on Friday showed that Besseberg was on hunting trips at this hunting lodge in the Czech Republic a number of times. It was submitted that the stays and hunting here, in which Besseberg had participated, had a total value of several hundred thousand kroner. But it is especially the aforementioned trip in connection with the 70th anniversary that stands out in terms of price. – This trip is no secret. After the hunt we had a drink after midnight. I then went home and celebrated with my family, said Besseberg. The 70th birthday celebration continued there for Besseberg. Even King Harald sent a message home to him. – On my 70th birthday, I received a bouquet of flowers from His Majesty the King, said Besseberg in court. Anders Besseberg with King Harald, Princess Astrid and biathlon star Darja Domratsjeva in Holmenkollen on 18 March 2018. Photo: NTB Besseberg himself has stood with King Harald on the royal stand in Holmenkollen a number of times. That is why he also gave King Harald a thank-you card, with a picture of himself together with the mouflon he felled in the Czech Republic on 24 February 2016. – The king is a very interested hunter, said Besseberg. Didn’t check the prices The picture of Besseberg and this mouflon has also been published by news in the past and the picture was explained in court on Friday. Because Besseberg himself brought the thank-you card with this picture to court. – What thoughts did you have about the value of your hunting friend Schmid’s claim? Did you think about it, asked the prosecutor – Not when I was down there, answered Besseberg Økokrim pointed to how the hunting trips were paid for by Volker Schmid through his own company. – I had a completely different impression of what I see now. “I’ve never seen this here, and what he paid for it,” Besseberg said after seeing the value of the trips, said Besseberg, who was asked why Schmid would treat him to this. – If he managed some of the expenses at his company, it was not something I had reason to interfere with, said Besseberg about the payment of the stay. The trial against Anders Besseberg lasts until 16 February. The court has set aside six weeks for the case.
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Hunting castle and wild sheep worth NOK 100,000 – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
